Local News

Police search for missing Durham boy, woman

Police combed some woods Tuesday morning near a Durham home where a missing boy and woman lived.

Posted Updated

DURHAM, N.C. — Police combed some woods Tuesday morning near a Durham home where a missing boy and woman lived.

Jadon Higganbothan, 5, hasn't been seen since October, while Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy, 28, hasn't been seen since December and was reported missing by her family in Washington, D.C., in early February.

Jadon and his mother, Vania Rae Sisk, lived at 2109 Pear Tree Lane with a group of people, including McKoy, police said.

More than a dozen investigators spent about four hours Tuesday searching some woods near the intersection of So Hi Drive and Ed Cook Road, which is around the corner from Pear Tree Lane. Although some of the searchers wore jackets with "homicide" on the back, a police spokeswoman said the case is still a missing persons investigation.

It was unclear what investigators were searching for in the woods or whether they found anything.

Police have searched 2109 Pear Tree Lane several times in recent weeks for evidence in Jadon's and McKoy's disappearances.

Search warrants from the Teller County Sheriff's Office in Colorado state that Sisk moved to the Colorado Springs area with members of the Black Hebrews, a religious sect that believes it descends directly from the ancient tribes of Israel.

Colorado authorities said they became involved in the case last month when Durham police called to ask them about the whereabouts of Jadon and Sisk.

Authorities went to a Woodland Park, Colo., home on Feb. 23 to ask Sisk about the missing boy, but neither she nor her son was there. Ten other children, including three of Sisk's, were taken from the home and placed in the custody of the Teller County, Colo., Department of Social Services.

Sisk has since spoken to authorities in Colorado and Durham police. She told local investigators that she left Jadon with an acquaintance on Feb. 20, but police said her statements were inconsistent.

According to the warrants, a confidential Durham police informant who is a former member of the Black Hebrews told investigators that Jadon was shot by a member of the group in October while they were still in North Carolina. The body was wrapped in plastic and stuffed into a suitcase, and the suitcase was disposed of a few days later, the warrants state.

The informant also told police that McKoy got into an argument with a member of the Black Hebrews in December, and she was beaten up and shot to death by members of the group. They later disposed of her body, the warrants state.

"Whatever is done in the dark, I'm trusting God is going to bring it to the light," McKoy's mother, Yvonne McKoy, said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

"I had to go through her things because I'm in the process of moving, and everything I touched reminded me of her. Everything I looked at reminded me of her, and it's a very hurtful thing," Yvonne McKoy said. "I feel like I've been robbed. I really do feel like I've been robbed of the joy of having her with me."

Sisk hasn't been charged with any crime in connection with her son's disappearance but was charged last month with possession of marijuana. She failed to show up for a court hearing two weeks ago, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Anyone with information on Jadon's or McKoy's whereabouts is asked to call the Durham Police Department at 919-560-4440, extension 29335, or Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.